What a quick update, neh? X3 Well, this one is pretty long, but kinda senseless. Whatever!

And it might seem like the last chapter with that last line, but it isn't, so don't worry! There will be a baby and a family and EVERYTHING! So just wait!

W00t for 20 chapters! Yeeeaaay! X3

-Dances in her Itachi cloak some more-

---

All I needed was to be alone...

This sounded so strange from a boy who had been alone his whole life, and it was finally, at this point, where he was getting too much attention. Was there such a thing?

I sat up in a secretive break, in between two branches parted from the trunk. It was a very nice hiding place, a tight fit for me and my belly, but perfect. I was sure no one could see me from there, being bushels of leaves blocking a view. So I sat there, my knees as close to my chest as they could get with my immense stomach, staring blankly out at the open canopy.

I'd be nice if I could stay here forever, never having to show my face to anyone...

...Especially him...

At the moment, I was so angry with him, it bordered hatred. But realizing I could never possibly hate him, and remembering a little emotional outburst I had gone through before any of this, I had never hated him. He was like the brother I never had...

...But now he's the lover I've always wanted...

I picked off some bark with my stubby fingernails, my mind sinking into depression. I hadn't meant for all of this to happen. And now look! I'm helpless. Helpless is almost an understatement.

I'm worthless.

There's the word.

I'm stupid.

No wonder all of Sasuke's nicknames had something to do with my stupidity.

He was right.

...I'm absolutely useless...

"...I've found you, Naruto-kun..."

---

Itachi was bound to be the first one to find Naruto, he knew it.

Sasuke bounded through the canopy of green, trailing his red eyes over every inch of ground to find an abnormal orange blob with sunshine hair. He had no such luck during the first 20 minutes of his rescue mission. But turning to hear a voice he didn't recognize immediately, he shot out to find it.

---

"...Neji? How...Did you get here?"

The boy with white eyes raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Byakugan, fool," he informed me matter-of-factly before holding out his bandaged hand to me. I shied away, eyes narrow and skin flushed red.

"I don't want to go back."

"Everyone's worried, Naruto-kun. And you can't stay here forever."

I looked up at him angrily. "Why not?"

He poked my stomach.

"That's going to be born in only a few days. An unassisted birth can be dangerous for both of you. You'd lose so much blood, you could die. And what would you sterilize the baby with? A birth is not as easy as you think it is."

My glare worsened. "I never said it was going to be easy!"

"But do you understand, Naruto-kun? You can't stay here. You could get sick from the night air, or something poisonous might bite you. You could fall, Naruto-kun, and kill your baby."

I looked down at my outstretched feet. Whenever they mentioned my baby's death, I'd always stop in my tracks and agree with whatever term it was, as long as no harm was done to my baby.

"...What did Sasuke...Look like...Before I left?" I asked timidly. He nodded off to the side.

"His face was red from anger. And I swear, it looked like he wanted to kill you."

I averted my eyes lowly, a shaky breath escaping my lips.

"...He's not going to let me slip out of that one...He'll probably throw me out."

---

Sasuke clenched his fists at that. Hiding in the bushes just below the tree, he suppressed his scream of rage.

When had he ever thrown Naruto out?

When had he ever gone as far as to even consider killing Naruto?

Nothing they were saying was making any sense to him...

...Especially the fact that Naruto was actually talking to Neji, not Sasuke, about his problems. HE should be the one talking to Naruto, cooling him down, persuading Naruto to come home. Not the Hyuuga.

He only continued to watch from his lower level, his neck craned almost painfully to see.

"Sasuke would never throw you out, Naruto-kun," damn straight. He loved him.

"Are you sure about that? On one or more occasions, I've seen his eyes look at me like he truly hated me." Sasuke's teeth clenched. He had never been used to looking at people with love, or any other emotion other than disliking. And so he felt the need to apologize.

"...I think I've been getting on his nerves a lot lately...Because I'm so stupid, he doesn't want to talk to me..."

Sasuke didn't know how to react.

...Stupid?

Sasuke had never hated Naruto because he was stupid. Actually, he had never hated Naruto, and he had never really thought of him as entirely stupid. He was more or less dense, but that didn't help his situation.

"...And he likes to see me cry."

Sasuke hated those tears.

Sasuke hated those sobs.

Sasuke hated those moments where Naruto would cry into his hands because he had no better place.

Because he had felt like he either couldn't do anything to help him,

Or felt that he had caused those tears.

"...I never want to cry again. It's going to be hard, I know. But right now, as I talk to you about it, I feel like crying...As if it's the only thing I CAN do. I'm useless."

Sasuke looked at his feet...Is that because of me too?

You aren't useless, Naruto...

---

"...I don't want to cry, Neji... I don't want to go home..."

"...So you're going to stay here?"

"...I know that I might fall or something like that...So maybe I'll get somewhere to stay that's as far away from Konoha as possible..." I focused my eyes on an abandoned bird's nest just a branch below me. Eggshells littered the inside, and it looked like no one had been there for weeks.

...Did they miss their home?

...Were they reluctant to leave?

...Like I am?

Neji watched me with narrow concerned eyes, and I tried to stay as still as I could. His eyes can see everything about me.

"...I know you're scared."

I jerked my head up to look at him. "I am not!"

Neji shook his head lightly, still staring at me.

"...You're scared. Scared to leave your hometown again, scared your friends will be angry with you if you do... And I think you're scared of Sasuke."

My eyes grew wide with the mention of his name.

I wasn't scared of Sasuke.

I've never been scared of Sasuke...

I am not scared of SASUKE!

My fists clenched, and Neji blinked.

"...I am right. You are scared of him."

I clenched my fists to the point where my fingernails pressed into my palms to make little crescent moons before standing quickly.

"I AM NOT SCARED OF SASUKE! IF ANYTHING, I HATE HIM! I NEVER WANT TO GO HOME AGAIN, AND I'M NOT GOING TO CRY, BECAUSE I'M UZUMAKI NARUTO!"

The tears fell from my eyes, and at that point, I wanted to kill myself. And slowly lowering my fists to my side, I dropped my head lowly, my bangs covering my tearful eyes. My trembling didn't cease along with my crying.

"...I'm not scared...I'm not scared of Sasuke...I'm not scared of him."

"...You're scared he's going to leave, aren't you?"

I didn't answer with my usual protest, because I knew I couldn't deny it in any way.

"...Yes..." I whispered under my breath, "...That's what I'm scared of..."

---

Sasuke had his face in his hands, frustration running through his shaky breaths.

...This is what Naruto has been thinking?

The thought of Naruto in so much pain because of Sasuke made him sick.

...It's all his fault...

Running trembling hands through his hair, he exhaled slowly. He didn't want this to get to him, to make him angry with Naruto. He always lost his temper with the boy, even though it was Naruto's fault, it didn't need to end so painfully.

Naruto didn't deserve that.

He'd been like that his whole life, yelled at. And to finally get a new life, or atleast a chance, and have it backfire on him, it must feel horrible. Sasuke couldn't imagine the hurt in Naruto. No wonder he cried so much.

His anger toward Naruto was scaring the blonde.

...It scared him to the point where he would cry.

...And led him to the conclusion that Sasuke hated him.

Sasuke looked up at the two in the tree, and realized that Naruto had broken down into sobs, the calming hands of Neji around him. The fact that Neji had gotten to Naruto before him was still bugging him to no end.

Jealous of the Hyuuga, he stood abruptly and jumped to the tree, startling Naruto, not Neji. Neji had seen him watching, a glare in his eyes as Naruto emptied his heart out to the boy. But Neji just smiled lightly in Naruto's sunshine hair as Sasuke hissed in anger, still running his hands up and down Naruto's shaking back.

"...Naruto-kun," he whispered in the fox boy's ear, "Sasuke's come for you..."

---

"...Time to go home."

I shook my head and pressed myself closer to Neji's comforting arms.

Neji was here to comfort, so that's what he should have been doing, not forcing me to Sasuke.

"I don't want to go home!" I cried, my tears wetting Neji's shirt. Neji whispered a few soft nothings into my ear before slowly pulling back. My cries had depleted into occasional whimpers at this point, and with nothing else to hold onto, I clutched at my kneecaps. My eyes were red and watery, irritation making me rub them feverishly, only ending with a deeper red color. I didn't want to look at Sasuke, to see the anger in those bottomless black eyes, to see the hatred he had toward me. I wanted it all to go away.

I hid my face in my hands as he stepped closer to me, afraid of an attack. I had hit him twice, and I think he should pay me back. But all he did was slide his warm hands around my back and under my knees to pick me up before giving me a chaste kiss to my right temple. I slowly removed my hands to see not the anger or the hatred, but the loving smile he had pressed to his fine rosy lips as he kissed me again, on the forehead. Neji was smiling at me too, using almost the same smile Sasuke had. And realizing I was all wrong, my entire idea on Sasuke was a mistake, I put my hands to my eyes to hide the newly forming tears, and tried to keep quiet my sobs. Neji had brought himself over to us, his hand in my hair, stroking every strand, while Sasuke continued to smile and kiss my cheek. They listened in on my cries with their concern , petting and comforting me as well as they could, letting me be in the midst of the attention...

...Finally the attention...